Sclater’s Monal and Himalayan Monal
GS PAPER II: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Context: Sclater’s Monal and Himalayan Monal, a colour pheasant sighted in Arunachal’s Upper Siang
- While Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus) is more widely distributed from Afghanistan to northeast India, the rarer Sclater’s (Lophophorus sclateri) monal is found in southern China and northern Myanmar.
- Sighting the two species of pheasants is a good indicator of the ecology of the area.
- Sclater’s monal, listed as vulnerable by the International Union of Conservation of Nature.
- Sclater’s monal is an endemic bird of the Eastern Himalaya, mostly recorded from the junction of India, Myanmar, Tibet and Yunnan province of China.
- It is a high-altitude bird and rarely comes down below 1,500 metres.
- This pheasant is restricted to Arunachal Pradesh on the Indian side.
- Its total population is only about 10,000 and is thus listed in the vulnerable category of threatened species and is Scheduled I species of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
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